What is the median household income in Canada?

In 2022, the median after-tax household income in Canada was $70,500, a decline of 3.4% or $2,500 from $73,000 in 2021. This decrease was primarily due to reduced government transfers following the end of COVID-19 benefits, along with the rollback of pandemic-related adjustments to the federal employment insurance program. Rising inflation also contributed to the decline. Market income was relatively unchanged from the year before.

Between 1976 and 2022, inflation-adjusted, based on 2022 dollars, median after-tax household income ranged from a low of $52,200 in 1997 to a peak of $73,700 in 2020. From 1980 to 1996, median after-tax income generally declined, with a brief period of growth. However, starting in 1997, it saw nearly 15 years of steady increases, driven by rising market income and government transfers.

After-tax income is calculated by adding market income and government transfers, then subtracting taxes.

How did median household after-tax income compare regionally?

In 2022, Alberta had the highest median after-tax household income at $82,700 and was the only province to see an increase that year. Ontario had the second-highest median household after-tax income at $74,600, followed by Saskatchewan at $72,100 and British Columbia at $70,600. These are the only four provinces to record median after-tax household income higher than the national median.

Nova Scotia experienced the sharpest decline in after-tax median household income dropping 9 percent from $64,300 in 2021 to $58,500 in 2022.

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